Institute of Government and Public Affairshttp://wuis.org
enGas Tax Fails To Keep Pace With Infrastructure Needshttp://wuis.org/post/gas-tax-fails-keep-pace-infrastructure-needs
<p></p><p></p><p><strong><em>Don Fullerton is associate director of IGPA for Urbana-Champaign and a member of the IGPA faculty. He&nbsp;is an expert on tax policy, energy and environmental policy issues. Julian Reif is an expert in health economics and policy.</em></strong></p><p><strong><em>They wrote the following op-ed.</em></strong></p><p>Last year, the Panzier Lane bridge in Jefferson County collapsed while a truck was driving over it. The driver was unharmed, but as reconstruction began last month, officials estimated it will cost more than half a million dollars to repair.</p>Sat, 29 Nov 2014 21:17:00 +0000Sean Crawford37852 at http://wuis.orgGas Tax Fails To Keep Pace With Infrastructure NeedsExpert: Why We Need Redistricting Reformhttp://wuis.org/post/expert-why-we-need-redistricting-reform
<p></p><p>Brian Gaines has watched Illinois politics for 20 years.&nbsp; The political scientist is with the University of Illinois's Institute for Government and Public Affairs. He says the current system of drawing legislative and congressional maps is bad and he hopes reformers can do something before the next re-map in 2020.</p>Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:24:14 +0000Bill Wheelhouse34524 at http://wuis.orgExpert: Why We Need Redistricting ReformMike Lawrence: The Compelling Challenge Of Rehabbing Illinoishttp://wuis.org/post/mike-lawrence-compelling-challenge-rehabbing-illinois
<p><em>The following is an op-ed written by Mike Lawrence for the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois.&nbsp; Lawrence was a longtime journalist, Press Secretary for Gov. Jim Edgar and later directed the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.</em></p><p>Gov. Pat Quinn and Bruce Rauner are having a brawl -- trash-talk and all. So, it's less likely with every gouge and grunt, that either will focus on rescuing Illinois until after the election -- if then.</p>Sat, 27 Sep 2014 12:34:00 +0000Sean Crawford33925 at http://wuis.orgMike Lawrence: The Compelling Challenge Of Rehabbing IllinoisChris Mooney: More Evidence-Based Policymaking Neededhttp://wuis.org/post/chris-mooney-more-evidence-based-policymaking-needed
<p></p><p><strong>Chris Mooney is Director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois.&nbsp; The following is an</strong> <strong>article he authored:</strong></p><p>Prisons vastly are overcrowded. College tuition is rising fast. Roads and bridges are crumbling. Public pensions are on the verge of disaster.</p><p>Why is Illinois state government so inept? While public problems are inherently difficult to solve, Illinois seems to be particularly adrift these days.</p>Fri, 19 Sep 2014 20:47:00 +0000Sean Crawford33556 at http://wuis.orgChris Mooney: More Evidence-Based Policymaking NeededInterfund Borrowing No One's First Choice For Budgetinghttp://wuis.org/post/interfund-borrowing-no-ones-first-choice-budgeting
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>The budget passed by the Illinois General Assembly does not rely on extending the 2011 income tax hike, as originally planned by Democratic leadership. Instead, it's based on state government borrowing from itself.</p><p></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">Instead of making the five percent income tax rate permanent or chopping away at government programs, lawmakers opted to fill a massive hole in state revenues by doing something called "</span>interfund<span style="line-height: 1.5;"> borrowing."</span></p>Mon, 02 Jun 2014 03:10:53 +0000z-Hannah Meisel26392 at http://wuis.orgInterfund Borrowing No One's First Choice For BudgetingFormer Lawmaker Says Change Is Needed In State Budgetinghttp://wuis.org/post/former-lawmaker-says-change-needed-state-budgeting
<p>Rick Winkel served in the legislature from 1995 to 2003.&nbsp; Now he is Director of the Office of Public Leadership at the University of Illinois' Institute of Government and Public Affairs.&nbsp;</p><p>He wrote a recent op-ed that criticizes how budgeting is done.&nbsp; He said more transparency is needed, including data that is easier for people outside of government to understand.</p>Tue, 06 May 2014 14:00:00 +0000Sean Crawford24327 at http://wuis.orgFormer Lawmaker Says Change Is Needed In State BudgetingProfessor Says Higher Ed Spending Brings Long Term Benefitshttp://wuis.org/post/professor-says-higher-ed-spending-brings-long-term-benefits
<p></p><p>Illinois budget cutting has targeted higher education for more than a decade.&nbsp;&nbsp; But a professor who has studied funding for colleges says it actually leads to more state financial problems.<br />&nbsp;</p><p>Walter McMahon is a Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Illinois.&nbsp; He says more investment would serve the state well in the future.</p><p><em>McMahon's column below on higher education spending is part of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs' <a href="http://igpa.uillinois.edu/budget-toolbox">Illinois Budget Policy Toolbox</a>.</em></p>Thu, 01 May 2014 13:15:00 +0000Sean Crawford24163 at http://wuis.orgProfessor Says Higher Ed Spending Brings Long Term BenefitsThe Vanishing Millionaire Taxhttp://wuis.org/post/vanishing-millionaire-tax
<p>House Speaker Michael Madigan pulled his plan for a so-called "millionaire tax" last week.&nbsp;&nbsp; The plan would have raised taxes on those earning $1 million or more a year, with the proceeds going to schools.&nbsp; It would have required a constitutional change.&nbsp;</p><p>Professor Brian Gaines has studied the idea.&nbsp; He's with the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois.&nbsp; He called Madigan's change of heart a bit surprising:</p><p><strong>Brian Gaines' essay on the "millionaire tax"</strong> -</p>Wed, 16 Apr 2014 14:04:43 +0000Sean Crawford23116 at http://wuis.orgThe Vanishing Millionaire TaxExpert Says State Of Illinois Needs Better Financial Planninghttp://wuis.org/post/expert-says-state-illinois-needs-better-financial-planning
<p></p><p></p><p>Illinois is like most states when it comes to budget challenges.&nbsp; Leaders must decide how to use tax dollars to pay for a variety of services.&nbsp;</p><p>But Illinois ranks low when it comes to financial planning.&nbsp; Nancy Hudspeth says some changes are needed.&nbsp; She's the Associate Director of the Fiscal Futures Project at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs.&nbsp;</p><p>Hudspeth wrote an article on the subject that appears below:</p><p align="center">&nbsp;</p>Wed, 02 Apr 2014 15:40:00 +0000Sean Crawford22107 at http://wuis.orgExpert Says State Of Illinois Needs Better Financial PlanningSin Taxes Won't Solve Illinois' Budget Troubleshttp://wuis.org/post/sin-taxes-wont-solve-illinois-budget-troubles
<p>When Illinois lawmakers are in need of more revenue, they often turn to sin. &nbsp;</p><p>Sin taxes, that is.&nbsp;</p><p>Those are taxes placed on items that can be considered undesirable, like cigarettes, alcohol or gambling. &nbsp;</p>Mon, 17 Mar 2014 11:15:00 +0000Sean Crawford20895 at http://wuis.orgSin Taxes Won't Solve Illinois' Budget TroublesIllinois Pays Penalty For Bad Fiscal Imagehttp://wuis.org/post/illinois-pays-penalty-bad-fiscal-image
<p>When it comes to finances, the State of Illinois has a poor reputation.&nbsp;&nbsp; New research shows how the state's negative perception is costing taxpayers.&nbsp;</p>Mon, 10 Mar 2014 12:19:00 +0000Sean Crawford20416 at http://wuis.orgIllinois Pays Penalty For Bad Fiscal ImageAcross The Board Budget Cutting Is Not So Simplehttp://wuis.org/post/across-board-budget-cutting-not-so-simple
<p>When politicians talk about budgets, someone invariably brings up the idea of across the board spending cuts.&nbsp;&nbsp; It's easy to understand.&nbsp; it also plays into an inherent fear of big government.</p><p>WUIS'&nbsp; Sean Crawford talked with Chris Mooney, the Director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois.&nbsp;&nbsp; Mooney wrote about the topic as part of a new project called the <a href="http://igpa.uillinois.edu/node/1939">Illinois Budget Policy Toolbox.&nbsp;</a></p>Mon, 03 Mar 2014 14:52:00 +0000Sean Crawford19881 at http://wuis.orgAcross The Board Budget Cutting Is Not So SimpleLawmakers' Light Spring Calendar Allows For Campaigninghttp://wuis.org/post/lawmakers-light-spring-calendar-allows-campaigning
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Legislators will descend on the capital city Wednesday, to hear the governor's annual state-of-the-state address. It's the first day they'll be in Springfield this year.</p><p></p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">The General Assembly had a jam-packed 2013. It started with new members being sworn into office, and ended with new laws legalizing same-sex marriage and overhauling state pensions.</span></p>Thu, 30 Jan 2014 01:28:30 +0000Amanda Vinicky17927 at http://wuis.orgLawmakers' Light Spring Calendar Allows For CampaigningBudget Gap To Increase Despite Pension Overhaulhttp://wuis.org/post/budget-gap-increase-despite-pension-overhaul
<p>Illinois' pension overhaul is tied up in a court challenge.&nbsp; But even if it remains law, cuts to state employees' and public school teachers' retirement benefits will not solve the state's budget problem.&nbsp; That's the forecast from a report issued today by the University of Illinois' Institute for Government and Public Affairs. Amanda Vinicky spoke with the report's principle author, economist Richard Dye.</p><p></p>Tue, 21 Jan 2014 13:15:00 +0000Amanda Vinicky17328 at http://wuis.orgBudget Gap To Increase Despite Pension OverhaulReport: Deficit Expected Even If Tax Hike Stayshttp://wuis.org/post/report-deficit-expected-even-if-tax-hike-stays
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Even if Illinois keeps its higher income tax rate, a new report projects the state is headed toward deficit spending.&nbsp;</p><p><span style="line-height: 1.5;">Illinois residents are paying a 5-percent tax on their income. It's been that way since 2011.</span></p><p>According to a new report from the University of Illinois' Institute of Government and Public Affairs, that tax money helped balance Illinois' budget this year.</p><p>But economist David Merriman, who directed the project, says that won't last.</p>Tue, 29 Oct 2013 21:30:37 +0000Amanda Vinicky11953 at http://wuis.orgReport: Deficit Expected Even If Tax Hike Stays